An Australian man accused in the death of a 17-year-old Thai girl allegedly exchanged unsettling text messages with another woman while, according to investigators, the teenager’s body remained hidden inside his apartment.

Simon Peter Carman, 45, originally from Ballarat, has been charged in Thailand with multiple offenses, including murder, concealing and moving a body, and abducting a minor for indecent purposes after the body of Tunchanok Donhomla, 17, was discovered inside a suitcase.

A woman who works in the sex industry has now claimed she was messaging Carman during the period investigators allege Donhomla’s body remained concealed inside the bathroom of his Pattaya apartment.According to 7News, Carman allegedly sent her a series of casual messages that gave no indication of the events police say had already unfolded.

“I’m so tired,” one message reportedly read.“I’m going to go for a swim today.”The woman later told reporters she was shocked after learning only hours afterward that Carman had been arrested and police had allegedly discovered a teenager’s body inside a suitcase.

Investigators allege Donhomla’s body remained inside the apartment bathroom for approximately 18 hours while Carman continued with what appeared to be an ordinary day.Police claim surveillance footage showed him shopping, eating meals, and even doing laundry before later leaving the apartment with the suitcase.

“From around 3:30 a.m. until about 9 p.m., when he disposed of the body, he appeared to go about his daily routine as usual,” Pattaya City Police Colonel Anek Srathongyu alleged.“We watched every single clip.”Thai authorities have also released further details about the case, saying Donhomla weighed approximately 88 pounds and stood just under five feet tall.

Carman, who is around 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs more than 220 pounds, has denied murder and claims he acted in self-defense.According to investigators, Carman told police the pair argued over payment for Donhomla’s company before he alleged she threatened him with a knife.

Police say an autopsy found facial injuries including swelling, bruising, and blood around her mouth and nose that investigators believe are consistent with a violent assault.

Meanwhile, Carman has reportedly been transferred to the hospital wing of Pattaya Remand Prison rather than being housed with the general inmate population.“He is in a ward with around five other men,” a prison staff member told the Daily Mail.“He is not sick, but we keep him there because he is a hard prisoner. This is our policy when you are a hard prisoner.”

Prison officials say the move was made out of concern for his own safety rather than because he posed a threat to others.The staff member also claimed Carman has displayed little visible emotion since his arrest and has not received any requests for visits from relatives or friends.

Authorities say he was moved to the prison hospital wing on Tuesday because they believed he could face risks if placed among the wider prison population.As the investigation continues, Donhomla’s grieving family has rejected Carman’s account of self-defense and is demanding the strongest possible punishment under Thai law.

“I told the police I want him executed,” her stepmother, Oradee Bussarakum, said.“As a mother, I don’t know what else to say. I just want him executed.”She said the loss had left her overwhelmed with grief and anger.“I asked the police if I could hit him, if I could beat him,” she added.“Please, just let me. The police told me not to, that he would face the full consequences regardless.”

In a video message addressed to Donhomla’s parents after his arrest, Carman expressed regret but insisted the incident had been beyond his control.“I know you’ll be very sad, upset; same-same me,” he said.“It shouldn’t happen, and I hope you’re OK. I know you’re not, but I hope.”He also added: “Please tell the other girls to be careful.”

New claims have also emerged about Carman’s life before his arrest.He had reportedly been renting a modest apartment at the Jomtien Condominium complex in Pattaya for about AUD$100 a week.Photographs obtained by ABC showed clothing piled across furniture, loose papers scattered throughout the room, and numerous empty liquor bottles.

People familiar with the apartment building told local media that Carman regularly invited young Thai women back to his room.One source claimed Donhomla was the youngest among them.“She was the youngest, but they were all young,” the source told The Daily Telegraph.

Other residents alleged women visited the apartment at least once each month and described Carman as generally respectful during those encounters.“Sometimes he just asked them to clean his room and for a massage, and he would pay 2,000 baht,” another source claimed.Police have also released text messages sent by Donhomla shortly after she arrived at Carman’s apartment.

“I’ve arrived at his apartment. The room is so messy,” she wrote to friends.Police Colonel Anek Srathongyu said the message was intended to reassure her friends that she had arrived safely.Investigators allege Carman had earlier approached another sex worker that night but was turned away before meeting Donhomla and her friends around 3 a.m.

Security cameras reportedly captured Carman and Donhomla walking together from Pattaya Beach, an area known for its nightlife, before entering his apartment building at approximately 3:30 a.m. on June 26.Police believe Donhomla died about 30 minutes later, at around 4 a.m.

At approximately 9 p.m., investigators allege Carman was recorded leaving the building alone while transporting a large black suitcase on a motorbike.

Police claim Donhomla’s body had been placed inside the 29-inch suitcase before it was left in long grass beside railway tracks about 2.6 miles from the apartment.Investigators recovered her white Onitsuka sneakers, jeans, underwear, a mobile phone case, wallet, gold bracelet, and necklace alongside the suitcase.

Police also confirmed that distinctive tattoos on her back, arms, chest, and left leg matched photographs posted on her social media accounts.

Carman was arrested at Bangkok’s main international airport on Friday, moments before boarding a Jetstar flight bound for Perth, where police allege he was attempting to leave Thailand as the investigation rapidly closed in.